Pharmacology Flashcards
define pharmacodynamics
what a drug does to the body
define pharmacokinetics
what the body does to a drug
define a drug
any single synthetic or natural substance of known structure used in treatment, prevention or diagnosis of a disease
define a medicine
chemical preparation containing one, or more, drugs used with the intention of causing a therapeutic effect.
examples of regulatory proteins that drugs act on?
enzymes, carrier molecules (transporters and pumps), ion channels and receptors
define an agonist
a drug that binds to a receptor to produce a cellular response e.g. adrenaline
define an antagonist
a drug that reduces or blocks the actions of an agonist by binding to the same receptors e.g. beta blockers
define affinity of an agonist
strength and association between a ligand and receptor
define efficacy of an agonist
ability of an agonist to evoke a cellular response
do antagonists possess affinity and efficacy?
only affinity
define EC50
the concentration of an agonist that elicits a half maximal response
same EC50
equipotent
what type of competition occurs between agonists and antagonists?
competitive inhibition if they bind to the same site, but different site is non-competitive
non-competitive inhibition causes the curve to?
not reach max
competitive inhibition causes the curve to
shift to the right
receptors are targets of?
neurotransmitters,hormones, therapeutic agents
three different ways of chemical signalling
- autocrine
- paracrine
- endocrine
four main types of receptors
- ligand-gated ion channel
- G protein-coupled receptor
- kinase-linked receptor
- nuclear receptors
structure of a ligand-gated ion channel
separate glycoprotein subunits with binding sites
which receptors are involved in second messengers?
G protein-coupled receptors
structure of G protein-coupled receptors
integral membrane protein. single polypeptide with NH2 and COOH, 7 transmembrane alpha-helical spans joined by 3 intracellular and 3 extracellular loops
structure of G-protein
peripheral membrane protein with 3 polypeptide subunits (alpha, beta and gamma). Guanine binding site on the alpha subunit that holds GTP or GDP
how is the G protein coupled receptor activated?
binding of the agonist
how is the G protein activated
the activation of the G-protein coupled receptor causes conformational change in the alpha subunit of the G-protein
what three changes happen to the G-protein to make it activated?
- G-protein couples with receptor
- releases GDP and GTP binds
- subunit dissociation
how do you turn off the signal even when the agonist has dissociated?
alpha subunit acts as an enzyme hydrolysing GTP to GDP. Subunit recombination.
explain signalling via receptor kinases
binding causes autophosphorylation and recruitment of proteins
explain nuclear receptors
steroid hormones diffuse across the plasma membrane and combine with an intracellular receptor which moves to the nucleus which switches genes on or off
four fates of drugs in the body
- Absorption
- Distribution
- metabolism
- excretion